I-57 group trying to get Chicago-to-Dallas route to go through Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — With the announcement improvements to U.S. 67 could be paid for in half the time expected, community leaders are looking at another four-lane highway project they said could be crucial for future development.

Members of the Highway 67 Corp. made the announcement at a recent meeting before signing a new resolution that will be presented today to elected officials in Washington, D.C.

It asks U.S. representatives and senators to close a gap of less than 240 miles in an interstate connection between Chicago and Dallas, with Poplar Bluff at its heart.

Representatives of Southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas want this gap to be designated as future Interstate 57 miles, said Tom Lawson, a Highway 67 Corp. member.

“It can be a reality, but it will take support from everyone: cities, counties, Arkansas, Missouri ...,” Lawson said, adding, “We’re a long way from realizing the success that will come, but it can.”

Poplar Bluff already has seen success in its U.S. 67 project, Lawson said.

The final payment will be made in 2020 on Poplar Bluff’s share of the cost to create a four-lane highway to Fredericktown, Missouri. The city’s one-half cent sales tax will have generated $43.6 million by that time, a goal originally set for 2035.

“Poplar Bluff can still be proud that with MoDOT’s help, the (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers’ help, we were able to complete 50 miles of four-lane highway from here to Fredericktown,” said Lawson, a former Poplar Bluff city manager.

It is important communities come together now on the new project, he said, before work begins on an infrastructure bill promised by President Donald Trump.

“This is just the first step, what we’re doing today, to get us to that point,” Lawson said before the resolution was signed. “I think this is a terribly important project, and I just hope all of us live to see the day when we get the job done.”

The Highway 67 Corp. meeting, held last week in Poplar Bluff, was attended by representatives of the northeast Arkansas region; other Missouri cities, including Sikeston; the Missouri Department of Transportation; and community members.

The interstate gap follows U.S. 60 from Sikeston to Poplar Bluff, drops down U.S. 67 to the Arkansas state line and eventually joins interstate-quality highway north of Little Rock, Arkansas.

About 60 percent, or 140 miles, of what could be the final link in a major transportation corridor already is built to interstate standards, said Bill Robison of Smith and Co. Engineers.

The remaining approximately 100 miles is split almost evenly between two-lane road and existing four-lane highway that is near interstate standard, according to Robison.

No dollar amount has been placed on the cost of upgrades; however, MoDOT representatives said the agency does not have the funding.

At one time, it seemed as if there wasn’t money to fund U.S. 67 improvements, said Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.

“If we have a plan put together, we’ll get the funding; we’ll find a way,” he said.

The economic impact to the region could be significant, according to those at the meeting.

Every new mile of interstate could bring more jobs to Poplar Bluff, Lawson said.

Similar resolutions have been signed by Arkansas communities between the state line and Little Rock, said Dan Pierce, chairman of the East Arkansas Good Roads Council.

Mike Marshall from the city of Sikeston said his community is also in support of this effort.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.